Nicola Morrissey
Head of School
Nicola was the first teacher at Dixons Music Primary when the academy opened in September 2012, having previously been a student at Dixons City.
After graduating from the University of Nottingham with an honours degree in Music in 2010, Nicola then completed a Montessori Certificate in Early Years Education in 2011. Nicola attended the Institute of Education in 2012 and gained a Primary PGCE in Early Years and Key Stage 1 with an additional specialism in primary music.
Nicola has been a senior leader at the academy since 2016 and has implemented a range of strategies which have driven whole school improvement and increased academic attainment. As English lead she implemented and embedded the Ruth Miskin Read, Write Inc. synthetic phonics and Literacy and Language schemes. She also launched Doug Lemov’s Reading Reconsidered Instruction Programme alongside introducing more challenging texts across the curriculum and she has played a key role in developing the academy's IPEELL writing scheme. Alongside this, she has been a key-stage lead providing pastoral support for several years.
As Senior Vice Principal she oversaw the quality of education and professional growth across the academy and enjoyed coaching subject leads, key-stage leads and members of the senior leadership team to improve outcomes, systems and processes.
In 2022, Nicola became Acting Principal and is now Head of School at the academy. She is currently developing the academy CPD curriculum and is refining the academy Model of Excellence. She is also deputy designated safeguarding lead and is committed to ensuring that all students at Dixons Music Primary achieve their full potential as they climb their mountains.
